Without Wand or Wire

It was only after Fae fell that her companions realised their feet had been magically-rooted to the stone beneath them; suddenly released from her spell-song, they stumbled forward. Snape was the first to reach the crenel she'd just vacated. He nearly fell himself as he scrambled to the edge and hauled himself forward far enough to see over it.

All he saw were her hair ribbons, one green, one rose, fluttering as they slowly descended to the gound.

There was no body.

All he could hear, in his ears and in his mind, was the sound of his heart pounding, his sizable intellect not offering up a single explanation for what could have happened to her (or any thoughts at all, really). Fortunately, by then his youthful companions had reached the tower as well, and spotted what he had not -- namely a large black bird flying towards the woods. A raven, to be specific.

Harry, Draco, and Hermione made the same mental connection, for different reasons, at exactly the same moment.

Harry remembered the raven that had flown into his window and sat on his radio alarm clock, inciting Hedwig's wrath; oddly enough, just as he realised what was going on, he also happened to spot, out of the corner of his eye, a large white form flying nearby. "Hedwig! Get that bird!" he called out to his friend.

On his own side of the tower, Draco noticed a much larger beast flying through the air. He'd remembered that his Granddame Morgain had been a raven Animagi; point in fact, that particular ability had been fairly prevelant in that part of the family. Add this to the fact that Morgain had schooled Faelyn for a bit, and it took Draco virtually no effort to come to the conclusion that his cousin was an Animagi as well. He gave even less thought to calling out to Buckbeak and jumping out of the tower. Snape almost fell again himself, reaching out to catch his errant godson; Harry, having just given his order to Hedwig, turned in time to see Snape's foolish maneuver and caught him by the robes, pulling the man to safety.

Hermione, meanwhile, had remembered the run-in she'd had with the raven back at the Tower of London. This knowledge had a domino effect in her mind, activating her photographic memory. She suddenly had a vision of the Animagus register, which she had investigated during her third year at Hogwarts: the list was short, but the name "Faelyn Dagdha" was on it, as well as her animal form.

"Where did she go?" Ginny asked, not sure whether she should still be afraid for her cousin or not: Fae wasn't splattered on the ground below, but what if something worse had happened? She had no reason to guess what the others knew. Her brother, equally in the dark about his cousin's ability, shrugged helplessly, shaking his head in disbelief, still recovering from the sight of Fae's fall in the first place.

"Quick, what spell can we use that would stop her without hurting her?" Hermione asked Ron, not considering for even a moment that she was generally the one he was always asking for such information; if she didn't know the answer, how could she expect him to?

In a less stressful situation, Ron would have pointed this out to her; as it was, he turned to her quickly and asked, "What, do you see her?!" He looked over the edge again, scouting the ground.

She grabbed his shoulder. "Out there!" she told him, pointing to the raven.

Ron scanned sky, confused for a moment. Ginny figured it out first. The next thing Ron knew, his baby sister was leaping out of the tower. Instinctually, he jumped into the crenel and reached for her, but she'd already fallen out of his reach -- and now he was falling too! Hermione made a grab for him -- and fell as well. Pigwidgeon, having apparently been flying about with Hedwig, divebombed after them all. He landed with a thud in Ron's hair and valiantly tried to pull his master back up by the ginger strands.

Harry's lightning Seeker-reflexes caused him to reach a hand into the air, not even drawing his wand, but shouting, "Accio Firebolt!," just as he'd done during the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. Seconds later, the besom was in his hand.

Of course, by then it was no longer technically needed.

At first it seemed like Ginny had caught fire. Then Harry noticed that the phoenix-like wings she'd grown in the Mirror-realm were sprouting once more from her back. The transformation went further this time; when it was done, Harry would have sworn she'd switched places with Fawkes.

It was quickly evident, though, that this was not the case: the real Fawkes swooped in, flying so expertly that his tailfeathers slid against Hermione's palm, tickling it. Her hand closed involuntarily around the plumage; suddenly she felt less like she was falling, and more as though she were floating. A glance at Ron found him similarly grasping the Ginny-phoenix's tail. Ginny wasn't as elegant a flier as Fawkes, and the phoenix ability to lighten things seemed not to work for her as well as it should, but she managed to get Ron safely to the ground. She landed with an indignant squawk; Ron still held her tail as if hanging on for dear life. Then again, looking at his determined expression, maybe it was less a residual death-grip and more a matter of refusing to let her fly off again. Pig was still trying to pull him back up by his hair, though, and he finally let go of Ginny's plumage in order to swat the tiny owl away.

Hermione, by this time, had been gently lowered to the ground by Fawkes. Harry landed far less gracefully beside her, thanks to the added weight of a former-Potions-Master stowaway to his broom.

"What are you doing?" the DADA teacher yelled in his ear. "We have to go after her!" he ordered, pointing to the black speck of a raven getting smaller and smaller in the sky.

Gaining on the bird was a slightly larger speck of white -- Hedwig -- and a gigantic blot of grey -- the hippogriff, with its Slytherin rider. Hedwig caught up with the raven first, tackling it in-mid-air. As the two birds struggled, they began to fall. Harry almost obeyed Snape then, intent on saving Hedwig, but as they watched, Buckbeak put on a burst of speed, flying under the falling creatures and allowing Draco to catch them. A second later, Hedwig flew free.

"I think Draco's got it covered," Harry finally replied. "Don't you trust him?" he added, bemused at Snape's still-tightly-clenched jaw.

"No, I don't!" Snape told him candidly. "Look!"

It only took Harry a moment to realise what the Potions Master meant: Buckbeak was still flying onwards, with no sign of turning back towards them.

"Fawkes!" Snape called out to the phoenix. "Tell Buckbeak to bring them back!"

The Ginny-phoenix tried to follow after the real one, but Ron still held to her tail. She tried to take off with him holding on, but she failed again at using her new form's supposed ability to make things near-weightless.

"Fawkes doesn't need your help!" Ron snapped. He didn't know what was going on with Ginny, but he wasn't going to let her out of his sight until he knew!

"Right. As of this moment, you're all grounded," Snape growled. "That especially means no more leaping out of towers! Is that understood?"

Hermione laughed, then quickly covered her mouth. The Potions Master glared at her. Hermione never could handle a teacher being angry with her. Cowed, she meekly explained, "In America, being 'grounded' means being on restriction. I just think it's funny that in this instance it seems to mean both."

It was Snape's turn to look amused -- an expression that still gave the Gryffindors the creeps, seeing as it usually boded ill for them. "And did you never consider where the term came from? Muggle aeroplanes that aren't allowed to take off are said to be 'grounded' too, yes? I swear, whoever first applied that phrase to a teen over there must have been a wizard himself, dealing with kids who had brooms ..."

"Oh! You know, I never really thought about it!" Hermione admitted.

"'In case you haven't noticed," Ron began testily, facing Snape, "you're not our parent and school's not in session; you can't put us on restriction!"

Snape gave him a glare that would have wilted Devil's Snare, but Ron stood his ground. Again surprised by the boy's newfound bravado, Snape hid a smile by turning coldy away, focusing instead on Draco. "Maybe I can't, but your mother surely will if she hears about your exploits," he added over his shoulder as an afterthought.

Ron paled.

Hermione, meanwhile, remembering how Ginny had said something similar to Snape a short while ago, began to laugh, trying in vain to stifle it with her hand. Ginny, now back in human form, snickered with her, but openly.

Ron gave Harry a questioning look, but his friend just shrugged. "Women," the red-head muttered under his breath, earning him a reproachful look from both girls.

As if siding with them, Pigwidgeon gave Ron's hair one final tug, then fluttered onto Ginny's shoulder.

Muttering about bird-brained traitors, Ron turned his attention to Buckbeak, who was flying back towards them. The hippogriff was flying somewhat erratically, as Draco was apparently protesting the change in direction while still trying to maintain his hold on the large, struggling black avian. Fawkes came to perch on Draco's shoulder, squawking and nipping at the teen's ear. Both the boy and the raven ceased their struggles, finally allowing the eaglehorse to fly smoothly. Though Draco was an ally now, Ron allowed himself a smirk at the fair-haired boy's expense; he'd do the same if it were Fred or George in such a predicament, after all, so he felt no guilt now.

The moment after Buckbeak's hooves touched earth, Harry cried out, "STUPEFY!"

Snape, who had been hurrying towards his errant godson, a reprimand on his tongue, stopped short and stumbled on his own momentum. Draco stiffened in his seat, thinking the spell was meant for him, and was surpised to find that he could still move.

"Harry, I think you forgot something," Ron remarked.

Harry tilted his head at Ron, baffled. "What's that?"

Ron snorted. "Your wand?"

Harry's brow knit in somewhat bemused annoyance, but it was Hermione who set the Weasley boy straight.

"Ron, did you happen to miss all the wandless magic Harry was doing earlier?"

Ron flinched; he had forgotten that. He'd been happy to forget it. "So ... i-if you don't need a wand to cast a spell now, who were you Stupefy-ing, Harry?"

"Fae."

"Oh. Right." Ron sighed, then looked skyward, wearing a defeated expression. Merlin, enough with the surprises toady, please! He jumped a little when Hermione slid her hand in his, a small, sympathetic smile on her lips. Well, okay, maybe some surprises are all right. He smiled back gratefully, giving her hand a squeeze.

Harry hid a smile by looking away; in doing so, he noticed the striken look on Draco's face, the Slytherin's own anguished eyes fixed on Ron and Hermione's clasped hands. Snape lectured his godson on running off alone; Harry heard Pansy's name, and immediately understood that Draco had been hoping Fae, if she were a traitor, could lead him to his lost love. Turning back to Ginny, Ron, and Hermione, it was clear to Harry that they understood as well, and sympathised; it warmed him to see the compassion in their eyes. This was what would defeat Voldemort: he understood that now. For the first time since revelation of his destiny, he felt confident in their success.

"Reparo!"

Minerva dropped the next bit of armor she was about to enchant with a start. She and Albus had quickly fallen into a steady rhythym, transforming helmet after metal helmet from steel to the more flimsy aluminium (though they did manage to retain the thickness of the steel, and therefore a little stability -- more than the piece the twins had given them, anyway). This course of action hadn't seemed terribly wise to her, until Albus explained that the armour wasn't meant to protect the body anymore, but the mind -- from spells such as the Imperious Curse and Legillimens. And now, after ten minutes of Transmuto Aluminius, he'd suddenly shouted out Reparo, and scared the daylights out of her. She turned to see just what it was he was reparing, and let out a string of expletives that she would have given a student a week's worth of detention over.

Albus grinned.

"What the hell did you fix that thing for?" she finally asked, eying the wireless in his hand.

"Thought it might come in handy!" he answered brightly. The truth of the matter was, he had an alterior motive, and it had little to do with the pending battle.

Minerva knew him too well. She put her hands on her hips, her mouth set in wry annoyance, the effect of which was spoiled by the smile threatening to take over from one corner. "Albus Dumbledore, if you don't know how I feel by now, no wireless is going to help you. Unless you were thinking it would help you to 'get the words out'?"

He barked a laugh, but the sparkle in his eyes quickly faded. "I was, actually," he admitted. "Miverva, if something should happen ... you do know how I feel, don't you?"

Minerva felt her heart flutter unsteadily in her chest. She's never seen him look so afraid before! What did he know?... Wordlessly, she stepped forward and enfolded his old bones as best she could in her not-nearly-as-aged-but-still-pretty-damned-old arms. The gap of time that had kept them "just friends" seemed a silly, trifling thing now; she cursed them both silently for letting it be a chasm for so long. She held him tight, with no intention of ever letting go. She didn't even mind the soothing tune the wireless played for them, as Albus gently began to sway, dancing with her.

"So what the hell is taking so long,?" Bill muttered. He was anxious to get to his proposal. Not that he was eager, mind -- well, no, he was eager, he loved Fleur and definitely wanted to marry her -- but though the thought of popping the question was scaring him out of his mind (what if she said no??), he wanted to get it over with before he lost his nerve entirely. Unfortunately, he was sure his mother would kill him if he didn't wait with such an important event until the whole family was present, the kids and his cousin included.

Well, provided Fae was still "family".

Charlie seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Maybe we should go look for them ourselves? I mean, they might need a hand...."

Fred, who had been listening in, got to his feet. "Right, then. Let's go, shall we?"

Molly, who hadn't been listening, as she'd been busy talking quietly with her husband, frowned up at her son. "Oy, now, where do you think you're going?"

"To look for our errant-but-sooo-special siblings," George answered dryly.

Molly bit her tongue. For one thing, technically, as the twins were now adults, she couldn't boss them around. For another, as much as she didn't like the idea of the family getting any more separated than they were, she was worried about her youngest children. The sooner they came back, the better she'd feel. Choosing to ignore George's jealousy -- for the moment -- she nodded. "But be quick about it, or I'm coming after you all," she warned in a tone that said they would not like what would happen to them if they let things come to that.

George smiled and nodded. Offering veiled threats was Molly Weasley's way of showing she cared, after all.

Luna, who had been sitting with Neville at a nearby table and had heard the entire exchange, rose to her feet, tugging on her companion's arm. "Come on, let's go with them!" she suggested cheerfully.

"Hang on, then!" Bill protested. He knew how clumsy Neville could be, and Luna didn't strike him as the brightest wand in the shop; he wasn't keen on having to keep an eye on them when he was already expecting to need both eyes for the search! "I think my brothers and I have this covered," he added as gently as he could through grit teeth.

"Aww, William, let zem come," Fleur coaxed, sidling up beside him. "Unless vou are going to tell moi to stay as well?" Light flashed warningly in her silver eyes, reminding him that she was far more than just a beautiful face.

Bill sighed inwardly, half in defeat and half in lovesickness. Her fiestyness was part and parcel of what he adored about her; it would be a fool's errand to complain now....

Snape led the children and their avian prisoner back into the castle, down to the dungeons and his suite of rooms, where he had a potion that could, temporarily, force an Animagus to both return to and stay in their natural guises.

Ron moved to sit on the black leather couch in the teacher's sitting room.

Snape spun on him, panicked. "Don't sit down!" he ordered.

"YOW!" Ron squealed, jumping back to his feet and rubbing his posterior. Being bitten by furniture was a happenstance he had come to expect from Hagrid's hut, but here?... Then again, it would be just like Snape to have some poisonous animal about, a snake or a spider (Spider?!!!), and now he was probably going to die!

"Graymalkin!" Draco cooed cheerfully, shifting his feathered bundle to one arm and reaching down to stroke the ears of the black bunny occupying the seat Ron had chosen.

Ron stared at the small animal a moment, not able to reconcile the presence of a cute, cuddly creature in the quarters of Severus Snape, of all people. After the long, bizarre day, no one could blame him for cracking up with mirth at that point.

Well, almost no one.

"You've found something amusing about my test subject, Mr. Weasley?" Snape asked, his smooth, silky tones promising a world of hurt.

"TEST SUBJECT?" Ginny's eyes were nearly wide as saucers. She scooped the bunny up in her arms, cradling it protectively, eyeing Snape with her own silent promise of pain.

Snape sighed with irritation. "Miss Weasley, am I wrong in assuming you've tested spells on animals in your classes?"

She looked at the floor. "I was never exactly happy about it, but Professor McGonagall always transfigured the animals back if we couldn't manage it ourselves. I'm guessing you're testing potentially lethal potions on him?" she accused, nodding her head to the rabbit.

Snape rolled his eyes. "You'd rather I test them on people? Your brother here, perhaps?"

Draco broke in, impatient, "Oh, give it up, Uncle! Anyone who knows about Graymalkin here also knows that the worst you ever feed him is your own cooking -- which can hardly be called bad, at that! And speaking of giving animals potions, I believe you had a potion you wanted to serve our Miss Dagdha, here?" he added patronizingly, holding the magically-frozen avian up.

The Trio braced themselves for a pending explosion, and were somewhat disappointed; rather than laying into Draco, as the professor had done to them so often over the years, Snape simply glared at the boy (with a look that could melt glass, which was at least of some consolation to the Trio) and turned back to his private Potions store.

The infirmary-born search-party went to the Great Hall first, just to confirm that Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Pomfrey had indeed gone elsewhere, and perhaps get a notion of where they'd gone. (Of course they could have used a Glass to contact Dumbledore, but if Pomfrey were with him, she'd be alerted to their absence and doubtless demand that Tonks and Krum get back to bed.) Shacklebolt went in alone, took a quick tour of the room, questioned a few guests, and came back out to his companions ten minutes later.

"Did you see Hermy-own?" Viktor asked anxiously.

"What? Oh, no, she's not in there. Neither are Dumbledore, McGonagall, or Pomfrey." He quickly recapped the story he'd heard about the astonishing night's events.

"We must have just missed Pomfrey!" Tonks said, upon learning the nurse had supposedly returned to the Hospital wing. "What luck!"

"So this means we're free to eat cake?" Sarah asked, her stomach choosing that moment to gurgle.

"Heck no!" Tonks replied. "You heard the man, the kids are off on a mission! Do you know how long its been since I've gotten to do a bit of sleuthing?"

"But we don't even know what the mission is!" Remus protested. Albus had apparently only said that he'd sent the kids off on a task with Snape, and that Daghda was to join up with them later.

"Well that's part of the fun of sleuthing, isn't it? Finding out stuff?" Tonks pointed out.

"I vill go vith you," Viktor said, eager to find his Hermy-own.

Shacklebolt sighed. "I suppose I'd better keep Tonks out of trouble, or Moody will have my hide!"

Remus threw his hands up in defeat. "All right, where do we start?"

The Potions Mistress, now returned to her human form, was trapped by the Immobilous spell cast by Snape. There was clearly malice in her eyes as Snape drew a a circle and various symbols on the floor around her.

"What's he doing?" Harry asked Hermione, quietly.

"It's a binding spell," Ron answered before she could even draw breath. "They use them at the Ministry, to keep prisoners from escaping or using magic while being questioned."

Hermione looked more than a little unsettled. "They do?" she asked weakly.

He glanced at her, curious at her tone. "Yeah, why?"

"Because binding spells are the providence of Dark Magic," Draco answered. After a moment's hesitancy, Hermione nodded.

Ron looked back and forth between them in angry disbelief. "No it's not -- they'd never allow that in the Ministry!"

"Why?" Snape drawled as he worked. "Because the Ministry is chock full of perfect people? No corruption anywhere?"

Ron cast his eyes to the floor, biting his lip.

"Besides," Snape pressed, "whether you like it or not, Dark Magic is sometimes necessary for the greater good. Any spell that violates the free will of another can technically be classified as Dark Magic, including Immobilous and even the Leg-locker Jinx. Besides, how else should we question criminals if not with a binding spell and Veritaserum, as necessary?"

"Veritaserum is Dark Magic?" Harry asked, scowling.

Snape sighed. "What did I just get finished saying? I mean, it is a potion that makes a wizard speak against his will, after all. Moreover, the initial groundwork, at the very least, was laid by a Dark Wizard. That famous Invisibility Cloak of yours had Dark beginnings as well," he added pointedly.

Harry thought he was going to be sick.

Snape closed the circle and stepped back, then released Fae from the effects of Immobilous. She stumbled forward, her expression finally matching her eyes.

"Any other humiliations you'd like to submit me to today, Sevy?" she spat.

"Veritaserum," he replied coolly, holding up a bottle.

"Ah, but how do you know I didn't spoil all your stores?" she asked, batting her eyes and smiling innocently.

Snape swallowed hard and stared at the vial in his hand as if it might attack him at any moment.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione said.

Fae turned to the girl, scowling. "I am not a crook!"

"No, no, I wasn't calling you a crook, I said Crookshanks"

"Leg-o'-crook?" Draco said, bemused. Ron snorted; Hermione glared at him.

"Good idea!" Harry said to Hermione. "You'd trust a kneazle, wouldn't you?" he asked Snape.

"Well, half-kneazle," Hermione corrected.

Snape stared at them a moment longer, the conversation jogging a piece of memory. "Oh, you mean that thing that was running about Grimmauld Place! ... That was a cat?" Hermione looked vastly offended, but Ron, having turned away in an effort to hide his own mirth (and therefore avoid inciting her further wrath), couldn't see her face. "Well, I suppose if it's part kneazle, I'd have to," Snape said, nodding and ignoring Hermione's indignation.

"Fine," Fae said, glancing at her nails, seeming bored.

"I'll have to fetch him from number twelve," Hermione muttered, moving to the fireplace.

"Oh, no, he's here -- somewhere, " Ron said, Harry bobbing his head in affirmation. "We saw him with Buckbeak, earlier," Ron elaborated.

"Oh, you're talking about that ug--er, really big, orange furball?" Draco asked.

Ron smirked and nodded.

Hermione glared at the boys. "Well, he's probably gone up to Griffindor Tower," she said. "I'll go look. Honestly, why must everyone pick on him?" she added under her breath.

Ginny snickered. Harry grinned at her.

"Er, I'll come with you," Ron offered, trying to sound nonchalant about it but failing miserably when his voice cracked. He seemed eager to be off, and Ginny wondered if it was because he wanted to get away from Snape or because he really to spend some time alone with his girl. Probably a bit of both. Hermione simply shrugged in reply, but her eyes said she was pleased by the offer. Ginny found Fae smirking knowingly as they watched the pair depart.

"Those two really need to get on with it already," Draco mused, shaking his head.

"Yes, then maybe I'd actually be able to teach a class without Granger interrupting every other second," Snape agreed.

Harry raised a brow. "How do you figure?"

"For one thing, in my experience, every new teenage couple ends up spending every waking hour making moon-eyes at each. Normally I frown on that behavior, but in their case, I'd be willing to make an exception. And, with any luck, once they've officially started dating, she'll have the decency not to illustrate just how much more intelligent she is than him," he added.

"Plus it's hard to talk with someone else's tongue in your mouth," Fae quipped, earning a look of disgust from everyone else in the room.

"Uncle, I don't suppose you'd care to Obliviate that mental image from my mind, would you?" Draco asked.

Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Luna, Neville, and the Weasley twins gently knocked upon, then opened every door they passed, the twins even opening a few that weren't immediately visible to the naked eye. They worked in silence, thoroughly absored in their task. Perhaps that was why they all nearly jumped out of their skin when, as Neville was about to round a corner, Luna suddenly spoke.

"Careful, Neville! You'll bump--"

But it was too late; his nose was introduced to Shacklebolt's torso before she'd finished the thought. The infirmary-born search party had been just as quiet, particularly as that stretch of hallways just happened to have rugs that had effectively muffled their footsteps.

"How did she know Shacklebolt was there?" Bill asked Fred in hushed tones, but it was George who answered, if only by shrugging.

"She 'as Ze Sight," Fleur whispered in her husband's ear, and he wasn't sure if the shiver that went down his spine was instigated by what she'd said or how she'd said it. Before he could collect his wits and ask her how she knew of Luna's ability, Shacklebolt and his party were greeting them and asking questions of their own.

Before long, the two parties learned that they were in search of the same quarry, and agreed to set off together. They kept their silence, not wishing to spoil any spell the kids might be helping Snape with. Most of them also wondered to themselves what task Albus would set the kids to that would require them to work with the ex-Potions' Master....

Ron let out a slow breath once they exited the dungeons, as if he'd been holding it since leaving Snape's Quarters. He supposed he had; it wouldn't astonish him in the least if the Slytherins had set traps along their halls for unwary Gryffindors.

"Bit of a shock, 'ey?" he said conversationally. "Snape having a bunny for a pet, I mean."

Hermione grinned. "Does make him seem almost human, doesn't it?"

"Almost," Ron agreed with a wink.

They traveled in comfortable silence for a good length of hall, but without words to hold them at bay, memories of recent events weighed heavily on them, oppressive and unavoidable.

"We could still lose," Hermione finally said. "Couldn't we." It wasn't a question.

Ron wanted to say something comforting, but he couldn't lie, and he couldn't think of anything helpful to say that wouldn't be a lie.

"Harry's faced death more times than I can keep track of, and we haven't exactly been a stranger to it ourselves. Your family all made it through the battle yesterday entact, but they could have easily been killed. You and Harry both only just avoided the attack on The Burrow today, and we managed to save Harry by the skin of our teeth tonight, and yet we could still lose him before this is over. All that we've been through should make me feel like we're invulnerable, and yet all I can think is that it just makes the odds that--" she choked "--that much worse for us!" She turned her face away as they walked, pretending to look at the portraitsso he wouldn't see her cry. He'd seen her cry before; why did it bother her to do it now?

"Hermione." His hand on her shoulder stayed her, but she would turn fully to meet his face. "I-I'm ... I'm scared too," he told her.

She glanced up at him, shocked by the confession, and even more surprised by the tears threatening to fall free from his glittering blue eyes. "Ron ..." Why couldn't she find the words? They came so easily to her in all other areas of her life -- wasn't he always telling her to shut it? She had to tell him, before something else happens and she never had a chance again--

And suddenly she was wrapped in his arms, uncertain of whether she had hugged him, or he her. Suddenly it was like they were back at The Burrow, holding each other in the aftermath of the attack, overwhelmed by fear and grief and elation that they were safe, that the worst hadn't happened to either of them. There had been something happening in those moments....

It was happening again.

And now there was no one to interrupt them.